The Gang is Family
by thewolfgurlgleek
Summary: Ponyboy and Steve have always had their differences without Soda knowing. But when something happens to expose those differences, whose side will Soda take? Will Ponyboy start to push away from the gang and find his own path? How will the gang take it all? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everyone! So after almost a year or so I'm FINALLY back in the Outsiders world! I'm so excited! Just so you guys know the all of the above option won my poll, but since the surprise story (Ponyboy fighting with Steve) was the winner, it gets done first! It takes place pre-book so everyone is alive and well, and without blonde hair, haha. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Sodapop Curtis. But I don't, S.E. Hinton does.**

**Ponyboy POV: **"Hey Soda," I called as I walked through the door. I was dead tired from track and starving. I hope Sodapop made pasta, or something filling, but above all there was a part of me that was hoping it wasn't a strange shade of orange.

"He ain't here kid," drawled an annoying, nasally voice from our living room. _Wonderful, _I thought rolling my eyes. Steve Randall was _exactly _the member of the gang I was most hopeful to see sprawled out on our couch after a rough day.

I rounded the corner to see him with his legs draped over the arm of the couch, sure enough, and crunching on a bag of _my _favorite potato chips. "Well then, where is he?" I demanded coldly. "And what are you doin' here all alone?"

He snorted and sat up straight, glaring at me as if I were the stupidest person alive. "He's at work, smart mouth. He asked me to come here so you didn't have to be home alone; told me Two-Bit was gonna give him a ride home."

"But still, why you here?" I asked, annoyed.

"Are you really that stupid, kid? You know all of us are allowed here whenever we wanna be, and besides, I sure ain't here for you. I'm here because my buddy asked me to be here."

"Well I don't need babysitting!" I blew up. "I ain't a kid!"

"Really?" he sneered. "'Cuz with all that whining, you could never tell you're a thirteen year old kid."

"I'm fourteen!"

"You sure don't act like it, you ungrateful little brat. You hang on to Soda like a five year old, and you never leave anyone be, you ask way too many questions. No wonder Darry hates you so much. I can't wait till you up and leave this place, kid."

I staggered backward. I knew Darry and I didn't get along well in the past six months since mom and dad died, but… did he really hate me?

Steve, being the jerk he is, was laughing at my stricken expression. At the sight of him, I saw red and hatred filled my veins. He wanted to talk about hate? I'd show him what hate really was.

I took a running start at him so he wouldn't have time to react; I was faster than he would ever be by a long shot. Grabbing him by his shirt collar and punching him as hard in the gut as I could, he fell to the ground groaning.

There was a part of me on the inside that knew it was wrong to hit him while he was down, but that part was overpowered by the hate I'd felt for him for the past ten or eleven years. I kicked him in the ribs repeatedly, and got down so I could hit him in his ugly face, hearing him grunt with pain at every blow, but that only pushed me further. I wanted him to feel every ounce of pain he's ever made me feel.

When I'd finally stopped and caught my breath, I saw that his face was bloody and bruised, and he was clutching his ribs and moaning. I got down to his level and whispered venomously, "Am I just a kid now?" and with one more kick to the jaw, I ran out the front door and bolted down the street.

**Sodapop POV: **"Give me a call," the girl said, slipping me her number over the desk and winking as she walked away. When she was out of sight, I tossed it. I mean, sure it was fun flirting with the girls and all, but I had Sandy, and she was all I'd never need.

"Oh Soda, you're so strong, and muscular, and manly, and so _cute _when you work on cars! Hold me!" Two-Bit mimicked in a high pitched voice as Johnny and Dallas cackled at the joke.

Idiot. I smacked him in the head and he looked highly offended. "Well excuse me for complimenting your skills with women. That blonde was real hot, though. Since you're taken, mind giving me the number?"

"I already put in the trash, Two-Bit."

"I can dig it out," he said quickly and I rolled my eyes. Always about the blondes.

The door chimed as someone walked in. We all turned to see who it was, and our mouths fell open. It was Steve, and he looked like he'd just been clobbered real badly. His lip was wide open, and his face bloody, he was clutching his ribs and limping over to us.

"Stevie, what happened to you, man?" I asked worriedly. "Was it the socs? Did they get you?"

Dally and Two-Bit were calling the socs every name in the book as they assessed Steve, and Johnny looked panicked at the sight of him. Even Johnny hadn't looked this bad after he'd been jumped.

"I thought you were supposed to be at our house," I said. Did they get you on the way there?"

"No," he grunted angrily. "It ain't the socs that did this, and I _was _at your house what it happened."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"The kid did it," he growled.

You could almost hear our jaws drop at the same time. "What?" I asked, bewildered.

"No way!" Two-Bit said.

"Pony would never do that," Johnny shook his head.

"Didn't know the kid had it in him," Dal grunted. "I'm proud."

I turned to glare at Dally and he shut up immediately. He knew I was dead serious. "Why would he do that to you?" I asked.

"Dunno," Steve shrugged indifferently. "All I do know is as soon as he was done he ran out of the house and left me on the ground. I have no clue where he is."

I put a hand on my friends shoulder and he winced, probably because he'd gotten a blow there too. "I'll call Darry. It looks like he and I need to talk to Pony. He and I will go look for him. You guys all stay at the house."

But as I sat there, calling Darry's work and waiting for him to come to the phone, all I could think was how much I couldn't believe that Pony would hurt someone like that. "What's the matter, Soda?" Darry asked as soon as he picked up the phone. "Boss told me you said it was urgent."

"We need to find Ponyboy, Dar. We have a problem."

**A/N: Sorry I know it probably stinks right now but I promise it will get better! Please review and tell me what you think, I'd love to know if you want me to continue! I need at least five reviews! I love you guys!**

**Thanks for Reading!**

**-thewolfgurlgleek :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi everyone! So first of all I want to thank everyone for the awesome response I got to the first chapter of this, I didn't think it would do half as well as it did! And secondly, I want to apologize for the delay, I've been kind of busy these past two weekends and haven't been able to update! Anyways, I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Considering Sodapop is portrayed by Rob Lowe and Johnny by Ralph Macchio, I would LOVE to say that the Outsiders are mine, they aren't.**

**Darry POV: **"What do you mean Pony beat Steve up?" I asked as soon as Soda climbed into the truck? "Pony ain't never hurt anyone before, he can't hurt a fly!"

"That's what I was wondering," Soda said. "But you saw Steve, Pony must've been real ticked off if he could do that much damage."

"But that doesn't excuse it!" I yelled. "He needs to know he can't go around and hit people like that! He ain't like Dallas. And besides, what if someone from the state were to see him do that? You would both be taken to the boys' home in the blink of an eye!"

"Dar, calm down," Soda said softly, patting me on the arm. "I'm sure Pony knows that. We just need to talk some sense into him right now."

I knew Sodapop was right, but I couldn't help the unsettling feeling I had in the pit of my stomach. As much as I loved our gang, I didn't want my little brother to turn out like the rest of them. The kid was going to go places. He was darn well smart enough to get a scholarship and get out of this town, make something of himself; I just didn't want him to lose his opportunities.

We found Pony at the first place we looked. He was sitting on a bench in front of the library reading a book. When he saw us his entire face paled, and without a word, he climbed into the car. It was a silent drive home. Clearly he knew what he was about to get.

We'd told the boys to wait for us at the house, but they all seemed to know it was better that we find out what we needed to know alone, and solve it as a family. But when we sat down at the kitchen table, he just stared back at Soda and I, his expression blank and unreadable. Soda was just staring back at him expectantly, waiting for an explanation.

After another minute of this I sighed and said, "So, you gonna tell us what the heck was goin' through your mind when you were killing Steve? Cuz' I sure don't know Pony."

"I'll tell ya what was going through it," Pony said bitterly. "That jerk has been on my back for years, making me feel like a worthless kid. Usually I put up with him for Soda's sake, but now I've had enough. He's had it coming for a real long time."

"W-what?" Soda stuttered. "You don't like Steve? Why didn't you ever tell me, Pone?"

"Cuz' he's your buddy, so I put up with him, but he's a self-conceited idiot! I am _not _a kid! I'm fourteen years old, for god's sake! It's time y'all start treatin' me like it!"

"Pony, we don't treat you like a kid," I replied defensively and Soda nodded. "it's just that you have so many incredible opportunities in front of you, and we're trying to steer you in the right direction."

"Well maybe it's a little too much!" he yelled. "And besides Darry, why would you wanna help me? You hate me! You have since mom and dad died!"

My eyes bulged wide, as well as Soda's. "What?" I sputtered. "Pony, how could you think that? You know I love you, kiddo."

He narrowed his eyes. "Do I? Whenever I bring home B's, you yell and say it should be better, even when I get A's it ain't good enough! When I read, you say I should play football, when I play football, you say I should study! I can't even go to the movies without being hollered at! You never let me be myself, but you let Sodapop here get away with murder and then laugh at him for it."

Soda's eyes were filled with tears. "Pony," he whispered brokenly, and I knew he was at a loss for words. He'd always known Pony better, but how could he not have seen this? "That ain't true, little buddy. You know Darry loves you. He doesn't treat the two of us any different."

"Says who?" Pony laughed bitterly. "You wouldn't know. You've always been everybody's favorite. No matter where I go people ask me if I'm related to you, and everyone says you're so darn perfect, when I'm the one that works hard at _everything! _Even dad liked you better! He was just like the two of you! He never really understood why I liked to read more than I liked to fight. But you know what? That's okay, because as soon as I get to college, I'm gonna start writing books like I always wanted, and then everyone in this stupid town will wish that they knew me better."

He was panting by the end of his speech. "Are you happy now?" he breathed before storming out of the kitchen and slamming the door to his bedroom.

I sat there in shock for a moment, and Sodapop had is head in his hands. "Darry, do you think he really meant all that?" he asked miserably. "All the stuff about me being the favorite, and you hating him?"

I wanted so badly to reassure my younger brother, tell him that Ponyboy hadn't meant anything he said. But instead I said, "I dunno, Pepsi-Cola. It sounded like he's been keeping that in a long time."

Soda's face sank lower into his hands and I patted him on the back.

Just then, the front door opened and Two-Bit was the first to enter. "So y'all, what'd we miss?"

**A/N: So how'd you guys like it? Do you think Pony's being fair, and what do you think the gang is going to do about it all? If you guys review, I promise I'll update by next weekend! I love you guys!**

**Thanks for Reading!**

**-thewolfgurlfgleek :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi everyone! So, again I want to apologize for this extremely long and unplanned delay for this update. In the weeks since I updated last all my teachers decided they wanted to drown their students in endless homework. Now however, I'm on spring break and well rested, so I can update a couple times before Monday and hopefully keep a decent schedule after that! I hope you guys enjoy seeing where Pony's anger leads!**

**Disclaimer: Only S.E. Hinton could come up with something as amazingly iconic as the Outsiders.**

**Sodapop POV: **After we'd explained our whole conversation with Pony to the guys, the entire room was silent. Nobody seemed to know just how to react, but every single one of them looked kind of uncomfortable, refusing to meet mine or Darry's eyes.

"Did any of y'all know about this?" I asked seriously. When nobody answered I lost it. "WELL?!" I demanded. "DID YOU?"

All at once, four guilty hands raised into the air. "You all did," Darry said, not as a question, but like he was stating a fact. "Y'all knew that… he felt this way. About us," he sucked in a breath. "About me."

"Look Dar," Two-Bit tried to reason. "We thought it was just when he was upset sometimes and wanted somethin' to holler about. We never thought he meant any of the crap he was spoutin', and we sure as heck didn't think the kid would ever say any of that to your face."

Darry nodded, looking kinda green and suddenly deciding that the drawings on our carpet were the most interesting thing in the world.

"Steve, tell me the truth here buddy," I looked at him desperately. "How long have you and Pone been fightin' like this?"

"Since we were kids," he muttered and I fell back against the couch. "But I swear Soda; it's never been _this _bad until today. I've never hit him, and he'd never hit me."

"You positive you dunno why he would hit you the way he did?" I demanded.

Steve nodded once. "I was just sitting there on the couch, eating some chips. Said I'd come to hang out with him cuz' you were at work and he just went at me like that. I didn't do nothin'."

"Aww come on Steve!" Dally protested. "Even if I wasn't there I know the kid's way too soft to hurt someone without them doin' somethin' to him first! So spill it! Tell us what you said, _right now _before I pummel you all over again and give you another black eye."

"Dal, its okay," a smug voice came from the hallway. Pony stood there, smirking like he knew something everyone else didn't. "You don't need to defend me; I can take care of myself. I think Steve's face shows that pretty well," he chuckled.

What had happened to my baby brother? So pure and innocent? "Pony," I whispered, getting up with my hands held in front of me, pleading. "Please. Tell me what's goin' on. It's me, Soda. Come on honey, you've always been able to talk to me," I placed a hand on his shoulder and he jerked away, staggering back a few steps.

"Why should I talk to you now?" he screamed at me. "It's not like you don't know what's goin' on already! I hit Steve cuz' he made me mad, and that's all there is to it. Go hang out with Sandy or somethin', Soda. Stop buggin' me, cuz' you ain't gonna get nothin' outta me anymore, alright?"

"I'll be back by eleven," he muttered before storming out of the house, leaving my hand still shaking, and stretched out towards him.

I felt as though my heart had just been ripped apart at the seams. My little brother was pushing away from me. What had I done wrong? Had I somehow made him believe that I didn't care about him? I slumped against the wall in defeat and sank to the floor; my entire world seemed to be falling apart around me then.

Someone's hand rested against my shoulder and I looked up to see Steve sitting next to me looking concerned. "You okay, buddy?" he whispered.

"No," I nearly sobbed. "He's never pushed away from me like that before; not in fourteen years. Not even when mom and dad died. He never once shut down on me like that and blocked me out. But right now… he was looking at me like he… like he _hated _me. Glory, what'd you say to him, Steve? What did you say that made him wanna stay away from me?"

"I swear buddy, I didn't say nothin' about either of y'all. He was just ticked off and he took it out on me, I swear."

"Yeah, but I've never seen him storm outta the house like that," Darry countered. "And he looked like he knew something everyone else didn't. So we need to get to the bottom of it all, before we lose him."

**Ponyboy POV: **I was halfway to the DX tryin' to clear my head to no avail. Stupid Sodapop, acting like he didn't know how much Darry despised me all this time. Every time we fought he'd take Darry's side and now I knew why. There was a time when the pained look on his face would have killed me; there was a time where I would've hugged my brother close and told him everything that was bothering me. Not anymore.

It was like Dally always told me and Johnny anyway. 'You get cold and hard and nothing can hurt you anymore.' I was through with letting Darry hurt me. For once, I would go against him, take advice from Dally. I would make sure Darry didn't get in my way anymore, or in the way of whom I wanted to become. If it meant that I would have to forget that I even had an older brother, then so be it. If I needed to be hard on Soda and alienate him too, so be it.

**A/N: Okay, so that was kind of a bogus filler chapter but I promise I'll do my best to update by tomorrow or Thursday and it is going to get better! What do you guys think about Pony having a friend outside the gang who can help him? She'll be a girl, but I promise she's going to be a good OC! They never seemed to mention Ponyboy's life outside the gang too much, and I thought it would be a nice idea. Tell me what you think and I'll see you guys soon! Love you!**

**Thanks for Reading!**

**-thewolfgurlgleek :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey everybody! I'm really happy you all liked the last chapter, and I agree with you all it's nice to see Pony in a different light than usual. I hope you all liked the OC I mentioned last time, because she'll be in here now. So enjoy! And any Divergent fans, please vote on my poll for a new story!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned the gang I'd be the luckiest person in the world. Unfortunately though, they belong to S.E. Hinton.**

**Ponyboy POV:** I saw her in front of the library seated on a bench waiting for me like she did every Friday, and my anger deflated like a balloon. "Hey Jade," I called, waving my hand from across the street. She peeked up brushing her blonde hair out of her eyes and smiled, motioning for me to come over to her.

Jade was from our side of town, but she was the only other kid with a brain around there, so we got along easy. Her hair was long; it fell to her waist, and caught against her face in the wind. Her eyes were like glass, bluer than the ocean and she was kind of short compared to me. But she wasn't under average height. For three years, she and I have been hanging out. I always brought her to come over when nobody but mom and dad were home, because all the rest would just make the assumption of her being my girlfriend and that was something none of us wanted.

After mom and dad died, I'd ignored her for a while, because so many of the memories I had of them were associated with her. It finally ended two months ago when she confronted me before track practice, furious at me for blocking her out, when she knew she could help me through the loss. Ever since then, we'd gone back to being nearly inseparable.

When I'd made it over and sat down I avoided her eyes. I could feel her slowly looking me over, like she knew something had happened to me. "What's the matter," she asked, her eyebrows furrowing just as I had expected. There wasn't any hiding from her. Jade could read me better than anyone else in the world. Better than Johnny or Two-Bit and the rest of the gang. Better than Soda, and not so surprisingly better than Darry.

"Nothing," I forced a smile. She's one of my best friends and I hated lying to her. Besides, lying around her was always useless, but always worth a shot.

"No," she countered me. "Pony, I know you. Something's botherin' you. Usually, you need to talk about it, cuz' when ya don't you blow up, sometimes in a violent way, or in tears and I don't wanna see that happen again, you hear? It's happened so many times these past couple months," she said softly. "I don't want you to keep holding things back. You have to trust me again."

"I do trust you," I argued.

"The fact that you're holding things back from me and lyin' proves you don't," she snapped. "If you don't feel like talking about it right now, I get it. But at least don't lie, okay?"

"Fine," I sighed. "I... I hit Steve."

Her eyes bulged wide and then she laughed. "Finally! So what'd he do to make you snap?"

"He told me Darry hated me, that I was just a little tagalong kid that got in everybody's way basically."

"Aw Pone," she laid a hand on my shoulder sympathetically. "C'mon. You know that ain't true. Darry don't hate you."

"How do I know," I was yelling now. "It sure makes sense that he would! I mean, I got in his way of goin' to college, didn't I? I always screw up as far as he's concerned and I'm not even worth wastin' time on! And Soda," I growled. "He always takin' Darry's side when we fight, he had to have known how Dar felt, or maybe he even felt the same way! I can't trust him anymore," I quieted down, finally feeling myself break. "I can't trust anyone, Jade. Who am I supposed to talk to now? I don't have my brother anymore, or any of the guys. What do I do?"

"Me," she whispered and I looked at her puzzled. "You got me to talk to, Ponyboy. You always will I promise. But maybe you should talk to Soda at least-"

"No," I cut her off, going numb, remembering Dally's words again. "Soda's a no good traitor. I'm done with him. He thinks pretending to be all upset when I shut him out is enough to convince me. it ain't gonna work no more."

"Maybe I should talk to him and Darry for you," she offered gently.

I gave her a look as though she were delusional. "Jade," I said slowly. "Just because you know who they are doesn't mean they know who you are."

"But I could talk to them. They'll listen if they know what's goin' on inside your head Pony."

"Like I said," I gritted my teeth angrily. "You know who they are but you don't really _know _them. They won't listen. They'll jump to conclusions and assume that somethin's wrong with me. Nothin' is. I'm gonna go," I said simply, getting up. "See you later."

I didn't even listen to her calling after me as I crossed the street and made my way back home. All that mattered right now was the fact that no one could really understand my brothers' betrayal. Not even Jade, the one person that I thought would always be able to identify with my problems.

The cold feeling of accepting Dally's words washed over me once again. Opening up to Jade was a longshot, I should've known from the beginning. The only person that could truly fix the problems between Darry, Soda, and I was my mother. And she wasn't here now. So there wasn't anything but their minds to figure it out. And between the two of them… it wasn't much. As if they didn't already know anyway.

A voice that scared me on the inside more than anything else filled my head. "Hey Grease!" "You look like you could use a good clobbering!"

**A/N: PLEASE READ! I know you guys might be thinking Jade is butting in a little bit too much to Ponyboy's problems, but really she does have the best intentions. And any Divergent fans, can you please vote on my Poll for either a Tris/Peter pairing or a Tris/Tobias(Four) pairing? I love the books and for some reason after I saw how Peter would look (I couldn't really picture him right in my head) in the movie, I was inspired to write a fanfic, so please vote on the poll! And what do you guys think is gonna happen to Pony next? Will whoever's in the car beat him or will he fight back? Review and you'll find out soon! I love you guys!**

**Thanks for Reading!**

**-thewolfgurlgleek :)**


End file.
